Time trial in the downpour in Pisa: Del Toro stays in the pink but Roglic recovers

After the dust-up in the Terre Bianche, the pouring rain in Piazza dei Miracoli at the end of the Lucca-Pisa time trial (28.6 kilometres) cleans up and redefines the hierarchies of a Giro d'Italia still reeling from the explosive rivalry between Isaac Del Toro and Juan Ayuso, the two young Uae Emirates upstarts who had dethroned Primoz Roglic on the stage to Siena.

A time trial conditioned by the rain, won at almost 53 km/h by Danish specialist Daan Holland, which put Roglic himself (the best of the big boys) back in the game and reduced the Mexican baby Isaac del Toro, still in the pink jersey but now tailed by Ayuso who, with a convincing performance, nibbled off 48 seconds, bringing him to just 25 seconds behind.

The strange challenge between two comrades from the same formation naturally continues. No counter-measures for the moment from the top management of the Emirates. However, after this test, almost a litmus test of the values in the field, the actions of Ayuso, captain at the start of the Giro, are clearly growing, and those of the Mexican, in difficulty under the heavy rain that forced almost all the best riders not to take risks, are tarnished.

The least penalised by Fantozzi's cloud was Roglic himself, who was more of a specialist than his opponents and was pardoned by Jupiter Pluvio in the first part of the stage.

The Slovenian, who came out of the stage in Siena beaten and dejected, raised his voice by climbing the classification like a salmon: from tenth place (at + 2'25) before the start, to fifth (+ 1'18") from the pink jersey. A certainly heavy deficit but still easily recoverable in the final week. Let's just say that Roglic has struck a blow to warn the cheeky Uae kids that he is still alive and well and fighting with us.